AT&T subscribers who previously had unlimited data plans back in the iPhone 3G era and have managed to hang onto that plan are in for their first price increase in seven years, a source with knowledge of the matter has informed 9to5Mac.
Update: AT&T has now publicly announced the change. Additional information has been added below.
The idea of a smart home is a long running meme in technological circles. Apple has made the biggest stride recently with HomeKit and there is now a significant ecosystem of lights, switches, and other accessories to buy for your home. That being said, smart home accessories are still novelties and quite pricey: they aren’t must-have purchases. However, this makes them great gifts for the holiday season — uncommon presents that are fun to play with and have some long-lasting usefulness. We’ve rounded up our favorite HomeKit accessories below …
Intrepid iOS developer/hacker Hamza Sood is back, this time with a cool hack to bring 3D Touch to the iPad Pro. By hooking relevant parts of the iOS system code via a jailbreak, detailed here on GitHub, iOS turns pressure data from Apple Pencil into pressure data for 3D Touch interactions. This is neat for two reasons: iPad Pro does not normally support 3D Touch (a feature currently exclusive to iPhone 6s) and its an unorthdox use for the Apple Pencil sensors, which is generally focused on drawing and sketching. You can see the video of the hack in action after the break …
Pebble smartwatches just got a little smarter, allowing some iPhone owners to reply to text messages directly on the watch – something that has so far been possible only on the Apple Watch.
Pebble is excited to introduce Text Reply for iOS, a beta feature making us the first non-Apple smartwatch to bring voice and text replies to our iPhone users […]
After setting things up, users can respond with a voice reply or pre-defined text to incoming items from the iOS Messages app.
There are, though, a few disclaimers …
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T-Mobile has announced its latest “un-carrier” initiative, dubbed “Un-carrier Unwrapped.” Rather than a permanent addition to the company’s offerings, Un-carrier Unwrapped is a month-long event during which the carrier will gift its subscribers and new customers with special deals and benefits.
The first of those was announced today: unlimited LTE data for all subscribers on Simple Choice post-paid plans for the next three months.
Apple has acknowledged the recent terrorism attacks in Paris with a commemorative ribbon on the Apple France homepage, www.apple.com/fr. The black ribbon is a sign of remembrance and mourning; Google has also added the symbol to its homepage in response to the attacks.
In addition, Apple has been contacting affected employees in French Apple retail stores to check they are safe.
Apple calling all employees in France to check they are safe… 👍
— History is a riot (@_jonasf_) November 14, 2015
Just how big is that 12.9-inch iPad Pro’s Retina display pixel-wise? Dennis Moore pointed out on Twitter that the gaps between app icons on the iPad Pro is actually larger than the entire width of an original iPhone or iPhone 3G screenshot. What you see above is a 1:1 comparison of the iPhone pixels overlaid on top of the iPad Pro home screen. The 2732×2048 screen resolution of the iPad Pro dwarfs the 320×480 iPhone display, which was actually considered a high-resolution just five years ago.
So many of Apple’s products either rely on or benefit from wireless Bluetooth connectivity these days that viewing Bluetooth’s roadmap is almost like viewing features for future Apple devices and accessories. Today the Bluetooth Special Interest Group has shared details on updates planned for the wireless connectivity technology in 2016 including improvements to range, transfer speed, and smart applications. Future and potentially even current Apple devices will certainly benefit as a result.
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As we reported last week, Apple has announced that the iPad Pro will go on sale in 40 countries on Wednesday, November 11th. The ‘epic’ 12.9 inch device will also be available in Apple Retail Stores later in the week.
The iPad Pro costs $799 for the 32 GB base model and maxes out at $1079 for the WiFi + Cellular 128 GB version. The iPad Pro will be available to buy in 40 countries, including the US, UK, Canada, China and Japan …
Update: The TAG Heuer Connected is now official. It goes on sale for $1500 very soon, has a 46mm case, connects with Android and iOS phones and will be available with a choice of 7 different color straps. Watch the promo video, see the official press renders and read up on the full official details here.
Swiss watchmaker TAG Heuer has announced that its Android Wear-based Carrera Connected smartwatch, launching today in New York, will have “almost the same functions as an Apple Watch.”
TAG Heuer CEO Jean-Claude Biver told Le Matin Dimanche that he didn’t want to reveal too much ahead of today’s official unveiling, which takes place at 11am ET …
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Pebble has announced that its first circular smartwatch, the Pebble Time Round, will begin shipping on 8th November, and will be available in Best Buy and Target the same day, priced at $249.99. The watch offers significantly less functionality than the Apple Watch, but a much longer battery-life thanks to its always-on color e-paper display.
This Sunday marks the debut of the world’s lightest and thinnest smartwatch at Best Buy and Target stores in the US, giving customers a chance to see and feel Pebble Time Round in-person. Pebble Time Round will also be available online at Amazon.com, BestBuy.com, Target.com, and Pebble.com.
The smartwatch was first available for preorder back in September.
In addition to the round shape, the latest Pebble also has a slimmer 7.5mm design. It’s available with a choice of bands in 14mm and 20mm widths.
HTC’s launch of the One A9 has caught the attention of many. The company insists that the latest mid-tier device isn’t an iPhone copy, despite the fact that — from almost every angle — it looks like one. Having spent time with it, we agree in many ways. Even if it is, the very fact it runs Android 6.0 is a big enough differentiating factor for many consumers. Still, the Taiwanese manufacturer isn’t helping itself by releasing its latest advertising campaign.
The latest full length ad, named ‘Be Brilliant’ has a clear message: Be Different. Sound familiar?
Facebook is said to be planning to launch its standalone news app with a list of media partners on board sometime next week. That’s according to Financial Times, which reports the app will be called Notify and include content from a list of media partners including CBS, The Washington Post, and Vogue. Reports of Facebook working on a separate mobile app focused on news rather than the social network first surfaced in early August.
The news comes just as Facebook announced today in its earnings report that it’s currently serving an average 1.01 billion daily active users each month…
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While Apple didn’t have an official presence at the New York Times DealBook Conference yesterday (not counting former US Vice President Al Gore who sits on Apple’s board), the Cupertino company still got plenty of airtime on stage. IBM CEO Ginni Rometty explained her company’s relationship with Apple and how their partnership is beneficial for changing how iPhones and iPads are used, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings addressed Amazon’s recent move to block Apple TVs and Google Chromecasts from its store, and activist investor Carl Icahn shares how he discovered Apple, which he calls “the greatest company in the world.” Check out each video appearance below from yesterday’s conference to see what they had to say:
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If you’re curious to see how Microsoft’s digital assistant Cortana compares to Siri, you may be able to take it for a test-drive. Microsoft says that it has completed internal testing of Cortana for iOS and is now seeking beta testers.
Cortana is with you on your Windows 10 PC, tablet, and phone—helping you whenever and wherever you need it. But we also know that there’s a choice of mobile devices out there, so we want help from our Windows Insiders to make sure she’s a great personal assistant on iOS too. We’re looking for a limited number of people to get their hands on an early version of the […] Cortana for iOS beta …
Fitbit CEO James Park says that the company’s sales have been unaffected by the Apple Watch, as the company announced Q3 revenue up 168% year-on-year, reports the Guardian.
On a conference call with investors, Park said that the rollout of other smart watches, which often come with a step-tracker similar to Fitbit’s main function, did not have impact on the company’s growth. When asked about Apple’s new watch specifically, he said it had “no material impact”. He added that Apple and Fitbit cater to “two very different segments in the market” in terms of price point and use and that “there’s room for more than one dominant player.”
While there is no current overlap in pricing – Fitbit devices start from just $60 and top out at $250 – the statement may look a little optimistic in years to come. Apple is likely to add functionality to future Watches while maintaining its premium pricing, but it’s not impossible it could follow its iPhone strategy of keeping previous-generation devices on sale at a reduced price when new ones launch.
That could see the two companies competing at least at the $250 level – and in the meantime, there are already discounted Apple Watches out there, from Apple and others.
Via The Verge
Activision Blizzard has agreed to acquire the company behind the popular Candy Crush Saga and Farm Hero games, King Digital Entertainment, for $5.9 billion in cash. King Digital’s games consist of a community of more than 340 million unique users. Activision, of course, is the company behind hit console games like the Call of Duty series.
Apple and government officials have been publicly sparring over how to handle privacy and encryption for months, and new rules expected to be proposed in the UK on Wednesday might make Apple’s position much harder to maintain.
The issue boils down to Apple allowing iPhone users to encrypt data behind a password — encryption that Apple can’t break through — and government officials wanting access in instances where de-encrypting smartphones could help law enforcement and security efforts. Services like iMessage and FaceTime are also encrypted end-to-end.
Now The Telegraph reports that the Investigatory Powers Bill being introduced on Wednesday will likely require Apple and other companies to hold a key to encrypted smartphones and services, giving access to government agencies when a warrant is issued.
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John Legere took to Twitter in a surprisingly short and subdued Tweetstorm just a short while ago to announce a new move the ‘Uncarrier’ is making this week. Ahead of its Uncarrier X event, T-Mo’s extraverted chief announced that the wireless carrier is now offering a personal 4G LTE CellSpot to any Simple Choice customer who wants one…
Facebook’s chief product officer Chris Cox is insisting that an unspecified but substantial number of staff switch from iPhone to Android, in order to have an experience of the service more typical of that in emerging markets, reports Wired.
“I am mandating a switch of a whole bunch of my team over to Android, just because people, when left up to their own devices, will often prefer an iPhone,” said Chris Cox, who said the move is “so that they can be reporting bugs and living in the same experience that most Facebook users experience today” …
Following through on a threat made earlier this month, Amazon has pulled all Apple TV hardware from its online stores, regardless of whether it was being sold by Amazon directly or third-party vendors in Amazon’s Marketplace. The removal coincides with today’s official release of the fourth-generation Apple TV, Apple’s first model to launch with an App Store full of third-party apps.
Amazon notified third-party merchants that it planned to remove both Apple TVs and Google’s Chromecasts from its listings, claiming an interest in reducing “consumer confusion” over streaming media players that don’t “interact well with Prime Video,” Amazon’s streaming video service. Apple TV and Chromecast pages currently lead to 404 Document Not Found error pages, while attempts to search for the products now redirect to Amazon’s own Fire TV, Fire TV Stick, PlayStation TV, and a collection of off-brand alternatives. Certain Apple TV accessories remain available for purchase, however…
There’s nothing like a little controversy when a new smartphone is launched to get people debating online. Remember ‘#scratchgate’ when the iPhone 5’s slate blue anodized finished scratched off really easily? Or last year’s iPhone 6 Plus, which some said bent really easily? Put those two hashtag-gates together and you apparently have the latest flagship Android phone. The Nexus 6P is the newest pure Android phone from Google, and is about to come under some new scrutiny from prospective buyers thanks to a video from Jerry Rig Everything on YouTube…
Apple can’t catch a break on Android. When Apple released its first app on Google’s platform last month called Move to iOS, Android fans were quick to negatively rate the app that only existed to help people switch from Android to iPhone. To date, Move to iOS has roughly 30,000 1 star reviews to only 10,000 5 star reviews with not much happening in the middle.
Now Apple has its second Android app on the Google Play Store called Beats Pill+. It’s a companion app to Apple’s new portable Bluetooth speaker with the same name, allowing both Android and iPhone users to pair two speakers as stereo or amplified and use a DJ feature for queueing up tracks from multiple phones.
And the reviews? Just as extreme despite Beats speakers working with both iPhone and Android and only recently being bought by Apple…
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Former OS X chief Bertrand Serlet is finally ready to talk about his cloud startup UpThere after founding the company in 2011. While Sertlet isn’t completely taking the wraps off the company he assembled after leaving Apple four years ago, UpThere is opening a beta for its cloud service today following nearly three years of silence. The service is said to be similar to iCloud, Dropbox, and similar cloud solutions, but UpThere’s strategy is fast access to data stored online and not syncing content across devices. The beta will preview two products coming down from UpThere…
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